Mayoral candidates fighting and occasionally smiling, a governor working his fellow electeds and the cameras, a hometown president passing through. Those are among the images in our 2017 photo retrospective.

Shot entirely in the five boroughs, our photo retrospective reflects our 2017 focus on the mayoral election and particularly on challengers looking to defeat Mayor de Blasio. There’s more, however, with a mix of light moments, conflict and loss.

Our photo retrospective covers the race from a 2016 endorsement of Bill de Blasio and a January 2017 appearance by Paul Massey through election night. I’ve chosen this selection from the more than 100 campaign events I attended.

Four aspiring Republican mayoral candidates at a March forum hosted by the Columbia College Republicans. None of the four made it to the Republican primary or general election.

He’s gone from melba toast to movie star. Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl was harshly dismissive of rival candidate Paul Massey during Massey’s campaign, deriding him as “melba toast”, bland and dry. Last night, however, Dietl said that he had dinner Monday evening with former candidate Massey and that Massey now “looks like a movie star, nice and tan.”

“I don’t care” Dietl shrugged when I asked if Massey will endorse him. Dietl separately said that he hasn’t asked for Massey’s endorsement and that Massey hasn’t offered it. It’s notable, however, that Massey has not endorsed his former Republican rival, Nicole Malliotakis.

Could Bo Dietl still end up in a Republican mayoral primary? That prospect has appeared dead since Dietl lost his lawsuit seeking reinstatement as a Republican and the five county Republican leaders declined any interest in granting Dietl a Wilson-Pakula, but he has yet another chance tonight. Dietl is set to appear at a meeting of the Queens County Republican executive committee to pitch his candidacy, seeking an endorsement and a Wilson-Pakula. Nicole Malliotakis is also expected to appear, seeking the Queens County GOP endorsement in the wake of Paul Massey’s withdrawal from the race. The Queens Republican Party initially supported Paul Massey, but Massey abruptly announced his withdrawal from the race on June 28th. As we reported on July 6th, the Queens GOP then set tonight as the date for considering its post-Massey options. Continue reading Going, Going … Bo?→

Republican mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis offered a gracious farewell to former rival Paul Massey today, but she has not yet received his endorsement or the endorsement of the two Republican County chairman and organizations that supported him.

Speaking at a press conference today in Dyker Heights at which Malliotakis highlighted a street with trash and debris, Malliotakis said that she was surprised by Massey’s withdrawal, that she called Massey and thanked him for “the good, spirited debate” they had shortly before Massey’s withdrawal and “wished him well.” She also “thanked him for coming into the race and expressing ideas.” Malliotakis has not yet received Massey’s endorsement, although it appears that she has asked him for it. She expressed hope that “the whole Party will coalesce around me,” but said only that she hopes it will happen after completing petitioning. Continue reading Malliotakis, Massey … & Bo?→

The two leading Republican mayoral candidates sat for a debate this morning, but one of those candidates headed for the exit shortly after the debate ended. Nicole Malliotakis and Paul Massey participated in a debate hosted by Crain’s and moderated by Greg David, but Massey ended his candidacy shortly after the debate ended, issuing an unexpected statement at noon. Massey attributed his withdrawal as driven by money, or the lack thereof, saying that he did “not see a path to raising the necessary funds to beat an incumbent mayor.” His looming withdrawal was not apparent during the debate.

The hour long debate featured a steady series of probing questions from Greg David. He asked for candidate views and proposals on a variety of issues. He focused most effectively on what’s going well in the City, challenging the candidates to explain and defend their criticisms of the incumbent mayor on the economy and crime when both are reported at positive record-setting levels.

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey abruptly withdrew from the mayoral race this afternoon. Massey issued a statement at noon announcing that “[t]oday I am ending my campaign for Mayor of the City of New York.” Massey participated in a Republican mayoral candidate debate this morning hosted by Crain’s New York without giving any indication that he was considering withdrawing. Continue reading Massey Out (Updated)→

The sun was shining, the crowds were cheering and the politicians waving as New York City’s annual Pride March was held Sunday. Once a small protest on the political fringe, the Pride March is now decidedly in the mainstream of New York politics. This year’s edition featured many elected officials and candidates, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senator Chuck Schumer and mayoral candidates Paul Massey and Bo Dietl.

“Mama” Jean DeVente, organizer of the first gay pride parade in NYC and a leading activist since Stonewall, rides with the Stonewall Veterans.

It was a regular Cuomo/de Blasio affair, with the two leading Democrats arriving separately and taking pains to avoid each other. Governor Cuomo delayed his arrival until the March began, rolling up 34th Street in his SUV to the parade route just as his marching contingent came down Fifth Avenue to 34th. Cuomo then held a brief press Q&A as his contingent stood still, blocking the parade route for Mayor de Blasio and the rest of the March.

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey held a press conference this afternoon propounding a solution for an upcoming long term disruption of the L train. Massey proposes modifying the G train route during a planned shutdown of the L train, thereby offering service into Manhattan for displaced L train riders. Massey spoke at Macri Triangle Park in East Williamsburg, riding the L train to and fro with reporters.

Massey proposed a series of routing and switching changes that would bring the G train into Manhattan. He would not provide a cost estimate beyond saying that it would cost “millions, not billions.” He faced several questions on the role of the governor in running the MTA, how he would accomplish his plan in light of the governor’s control of the MTA, whether he accepts the notion that the governor actually controls the MTA and the nature of his relationship with Governor Cuomo. He was also asked about his own gym habits, with a reporter asking if Massey came to this early afternoon press conference directly from the gym.

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey has never spoken with Governor Andrew Cuomo and doesn’t have an assessment of the governor’s 6+ years in office. That’s the summary of Massey’s lengthy response this afternoon when I asked about his relationship with, and assessment of, Cuomo.

The relationship between any governor and New York City mayor is important, with state law delineating the City’s power and authority and state government cooperation and/or approval needed for much of what any New York City mayor seeks to do. Massey regularly criticizes Mayor de Blasio for the infamously poor state of his relationship with Cuomo and pledges to be “supportive” and “work cooperatively” with Cuomo. That may well occur should Massey be elected, but there’s no established relationship or history to support those predictions. It’s worth noting that a long prior relationship is not assurance of a smooth governor/mayor relationship in office: de Blasio and Cuomo were once fond of mentioning that they’ve been “friends for 20 years.”

Here’s our full exchange this afternoon during a press conference focused on Massey’s proposal for modifying the G train route during a planned shutdown of the L train:

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey avoided directly answering whether he supports Governor Cuomo’s end-of-session bid to expand the MTA board with an increase in the governor’s representation. Cuomo announced a proposal late Tuesday afternoon to increase the governor’s representation to 9 of 17 MTA board seats, from the current 6 of 14. Such a proposal would diminish the already limited influence that the New York City mayor has on the board, as they would continue to have 4 seats on an enlarged board. I spoke with Massey Tuesday night, following a meeting of the Ronald Reagan Republican Club in Howard Beach.

Massey said that he’s “thrilled people are paying attention to the MTA” and that he’s “thrilled the governor is focusing on it.” He didn’t actually state whether he would support such a proposal, however. Notably, it’s contrary to Massey’s now often-stated goal of gaining greater influence for the City over the MTA’s subway operations.

Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey visited Koreatown Thursday, taking a walking tour on 32nd Street with several local business and civic leaders. Trailed by a swarm of campaign interns, Massey moved briskly along 32nd Street. He visited several businesses, including a soon-to-open spa, a couple of restaurants, a multi-level food court, a skin care/personal care products store and a gift store. He ended at a bar loaded with an enormous sound system and extensive record collection, answering questions from some Korean-American news outlets and two New York political reporters. (While in a side room dedicated to the Beatles Massey revealed his favorite Beatle – Paul, of course.) Continue reading Massey Visits Koreatown→